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Thursday, August 18, 2011

This past Sunday, we had Jack baptized at Faith Presbyterian Church in Brookhaven, Mississippi.

This is actually not our "home" church, per say. But we are in a strange situation. We are still members of Christ Presbyterian in Oxford. We left there for Malawi and attended IBF (on campus) as well as various village and local churches throughout the year. In Jackson, we attended First Presbyterian, and would have joined. But then I started applying to graduate school, so we decided to wait. This past year, we have attended Christ Memorial Church, but have not joined. It is a great church, but there are some issues that we disagree with them on. There is one PCA church in Vermont, but it is 30 minutes away. We attempted going there at first, but it's just too far. There is also a PCA church plant starting here in Burlington, but it will be a while till they are ready to baptize.

So we asked if we could have Jack baptized at Faith. Faith is really special to us. I spent the last 3 years of high school attending Faith. We were married there. Faith commissioned us to go to Malawi. My dad is an elder there and my parents are really involved. It is a sweet, sweet church full of people that love us and that we love.

I hope that the next place we live will have a PCA church we can join. But we are so thankful that we were able to have Jack baptized at Faith this past Sunday!

Here is Jack, in his beautiful baptism gown. My mom made it--isn't she talented?!? And yes, he has a pacifier in his mouth, but it was about to be time for him to eat, and he was getting fussy.

A lot of people have problems with infant baptism. But a lot of people also don't understand infant baptism. We don't believe that Jack is now a Christian. We don't believe his baptism saves him. We believe that we deal with a Covenant God, a God who has grafted us into the tree of his people (the Jews). We believe that in the same way that circumcision was a sign of God's covenant with his people, so Jack's baptism is a sign and seal of God's covenant with His people. One of the primary ways God uses of advancing his kingdom on earth is through believing families. And we hope and pray that God will do just that through Jack.

Here are the questions asked of Bech and me as parents this past Sunday:

1. Do you acknowledge your child’s need of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, and the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit?

Basically, do we believe that Jack is a sinner who cannot save himself.

2. Do you claim God’s covenant promises in his behalf, and do you look in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ for his salvation, as you do for your own?

3. Do you now unreservedly dedicate your child to God, and promise, in humble reliance upon divine grace, that you will endeavor to set before him a godly example, that you will pray with and for him, that you will teach him the doctrines of our holy religion, and that you will strive, by all the means of God’s appointment, to bring him up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?

Here are a couple of articles and links that explain infant baptism much better than I ever could. And here is a link to the section about baptism in the Book of Church Order.